IBL News: Salem Stampede Rumble Back Into Action

You can hear the game LIVE tonight on FullAccessSports.com. Air-time is 7:00 PM.

Salem-News.com SPORTS

SALEM - By: Mark Gilman

FullAccessSports.com

The team itself hasn't been all together for very long, but the Salem Stampede are excited and ready to begin their second International Basketball League season tonight as they host the Seattle Mountaineers at McKay High School.

Salem, which finished sixth in the IBL's Western conference last season with a record of 10-10, as a mixture of familiar faces and new blood on the team.

Back is IBL all-star guard Jeff Dunn, who averaged nearly 25 points per contest in 2006, scoring mostly from beyond the three point line. The Dallas native and Western Baptist (Corban) College star got married last year, and wavered a bit about returning, but is glad to be playing again.

Also returning is guard Ryan Skinner, who became a starter at mid season in 2006. He averaged 13.6 points per game, and also scored an IBL record 61 points in one game.

Other returnees include physical post Dustin Hummel, former Western Oregon guard Doug Lamb, and center Ty "Safe" Greer.

New to the team are some standouts from other IBL teams in 2006. 6-7 Antone Jarrell comes to Salem after starting last year for Tacoma. High scoring Blake Walker, a former Portland State standout, is also expected to be a key addition. Former Oregon State standout Nick DeWitz is also expected to join the team in a few weeks after completing his season in Europe. The 6-8 DeWitz ended his OSU career as the school record holder in three point shooting percentage and blocked shots per game.

Look for the Stampede to be quicker and better defensively this season, according to second-year coach Joe Becerra. "We have a lot of athletes, and I expect we will pressure the ball more effectively than we did last year," said Becerra.

Team chemistry will have to come on the fly, as many Stampede team members have just arrived this week. "Our first full practice together was on Wednesday," said. Becerra. "But they already look comfortable with each other, and that will only get better with time."

They face a Seattle team that has a nearly new roster for 2007. The remaining scoring threat from last season's Mountaineers team is post Aleksey Adediran, who averaged 15 points a game. Among his best efforts was an 18 point, 16 rebound performance against Salem in the first meeting between the two teams.

Coach Donald Sims' team won both meetings against Salem in 2006. Seattle downed Salem 122-109 on May 5, and grabbed a 133-126 overtime victory two weeks later. Seattle finished in second place in the IBL's Western Conference with a 15-5 record.

Tonight's game and all home Stampede contests will be broadcast live and archived for later dowload on Full Access Sports. Air time is 7 pm. Listeners will need Windows Media Player version 9 or better to hear the contest.

Other possible Stampede returnees: Look for Grayson Boucher to return to Salem later this season. The current "AND 1" League star is shooting a movie in California. Stampede officials are also hoping they can land former star Eric Fiegi for a second season. The IBL's leading scorer last season (31.5 ppg), Fiegi has been playing extensively in Europe.

Adding comments to these stories has been disabled. View the current sports stories Salem-News Sports